The Game
by birkinsmith-88
Summary: Poor Otacon


Pairing: Otacon/Solid, Otacon/Liquid, and then finally, Otacon ?

Not the best thing I've written, and it's a little stale, especially towards the end (I think I rushed it and ruined it... It had so much potential and I messed it up!)

And AU (Alternate Universe, just in-case you were wondering, and I totally was for longer than I care to admit) fic. Now before I briefly explain _how_ AU it is, know that if you go posting criticisms on how my theory on how things became this way wont work, you should know that I really don't care. I know it sounds ignorant but remind yourself that this is a mildly humorous slash fic and the AU-ness is simply a way to make the plot happen without raping the cannon of the games. I did make a bit of an effort, but I didn't lose any sleep trying to work out all the kinks and hitches. Besides, remind yourself that on mgs2 substance, Mei Ling was married to Solidus and Olga came from a dimension with a giant monster Gerlukovich (SP) soldier. Nuff said.

The AU-ness is (potential spoilers, I guess….): Liquid and Solid grew up together, meeting at a young age on the battlefield and figuring out they were brothers before Big Boss finally confronted them about it.Big Boss is still around, as he was dissuaded rather than killed. _**Solidus**_ Snake did Shadow Moses, Solid and Liquid both stopped him. Other than that thing about Big Boss, I don't know about Outer Heaven and Zanzibar, because I never played those games and I've totally learnt not to write about games I've only read about and not played, no matter how much I've read.

So now that that's clear….

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Liquid was searching his pockets, which was taking quite a while as he had many of them. There were ones on his pants, and a few on his leather trench coat – which he had removed and draped across a chair at some point – and was now throwing the fabric around in his hands muttering darkly to himself in a foreign tongue he had learnt in some god forsaken butt-crack of Eastern civilisation.

The reason he was subjecting himself to this was because he had lost a bet against his brother. The penalty was only five bucks, but Liquid wasn't used to losing a bet of any kind and had reacted accordingly. When Solid had attempted to rectify the situation by saying 'look Liquid, if it bothers you that much, you don't have to pay up' it had only made things a million times worse. Liquid _was_ proud, after all. And angry. And proud, angry men don't submit, even if it meant standing by ones own failures.

Solid didn't mind his pig-headed mind-set too much, though. He and Liquid had lived and died together as brothers on the battlefield all their lives, so he had become quite used to his baffling mood swings and didn't take it personally. Also, he knew he wasn't the easiest person in the world to work with and as a result the two anti-social brothers often ended up working together on a mission; it was how they had met. They both held no delusions about war; social niceties that may have been apart of everyday decency back in the world but they were meaningless in combat, and many – mostly greenhorns who couldn't split their minds between everyday life and warfare – often took offence from their harsh words and unsympathetic attitudes. In truth they meant no real offence (well, maybe a _little. _Just enough to stop them from dying of sheer incompetence….) on the contrary, those whom were closest to them could see that their harsh and hard-hearted attitudes hid a greater depth.

That was partially why they were here. Or to put it more accurately; why Solid was in this predicament. Liquid apparently couldn't find anything, and Solid wasn't about to ask him to confirm that guess deduced from all that angry shouting in Arabic from the blonde man followed by a rolling up of his leather jacket and dumping it viciously on the floor like a child in a tantrum. . . which he then tripped over while he tried to dramatically (he did everything dramatically) storm out of the room, the leather tangling with his boots before he kicked the ball across the room, stumbled somewhat, regained his composure, and then stomped past him, avoiding eye-contact and glaring straight ahead defiantly with diamond-hard eyes. Solid didn't dare smirk until he heard the door slam shut.

The vibration of the slamming door sent shuddering aftershocks briefly through the small room, and one of Hals' more precariously positioned figures toppled and fell to the cold tile with a plastic clatter. A little robot from something, Solid noticed. Most of Otacons' figures were either little robots or the scantily clad heroines who operated them.-

- He also noticed that something had come apart from it.

Solid sighed and shook his head as he couldn't believe he was circumnavigating the two desks covered in IT equipment to get to the floor before the windowsill where Otacon kept his figures. Hal kept the blinds closed with that window, because he said they plastic would lose its colour due to bleaching with sunlight. There were plenty of other windows in the office, however, so it wasn't a gloomy dungeon but that wasn't really because of Otacon; Liquid had insisted that– and then finally threatened to injure him if he didn't obey- he let a little natural light into his computer lab before he got rickets or something.

Picking up both the figure and the part that had come off, Solid could see that the damage wasn't really as bad as he had first thought; its little sword had simply popped out of its hand as it hit the ground, so it was nothing that needed to be fixed in a panicky hurry before Hal got back. After winning the bet, he really didn't want to get on Hals bad side.

You see, to understand the nature of the bet, you need to understand the nature of the Twin Snakes.

Heat and conflict can do strange things to the minds of man, as can the kind of closeness two men fighting for their own mortality together can bring. It was no secret that Liquid and Solid were as close as two brothers could be, but recently –especially after the death of Solidus- rumours had started up that perhaps they were a little _too_ close with each other at times.

As the rumours drifted past the ears of their comrades, Solid and Liquid began attracting all kinds of negative attention, at least they were negative from Solids' point of view. More rumours then began to surface that Liquid had actually entertained some of the exotic requests he was getting from his more attractive male comrades and although he couldn't prove these allegations, Solid knew his brother well enough to see a change in his behaviour, even if he couldn't quite tell what that change was exactly…

So in the end, when Solid finally had enough of his brothers 'disloyalty', Solid had made a bet. The cash prize was small, but the money wasn't what mattered. It was more like a token of recognition of the other achievement…..

Both of them had an eye for the chief engineer of their complex, a Mr. Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich. He was a relatively quiet man, the kind who could seemingly become invisible at will and move about the facility with little or no detection. He often saw and heard what others could not and then repeated this information without even realising the potential security breach to practically anyone who talked to him –which numbered very few. This was how they came to notice him in the first place.

To begin with, he always seemed terrified of everything or nothing at all. If Liquid made any sharp movements –and he often did – he would flinch, as if expecting a totally unjustified blow from a man whom had no real reason to strike him at all. If Solid glowered at him –and he often did- he would lose the ability to know what to do himself, fumbling with both his fingers and his gaze before turning red and light-headed from nerves. As time passed, he became more accustomed to being in the prescience of two almost omnipotently powerful super-soldiers – viewing them as friends instead- and as his fear of horrible wounding decreased, his true personality shone through.

Hal 'call-me-Otacon' Emmerich was a surprisingly bubbly and enthusiastic person on a good day, providing you got him on the right topic. Even at three on a Monday morning, he still somehow managed to be polite, warm and friendly as well as productive when there were those on site (most the Twin Snakes) who would probably kill anyone that bothered them at the small hours for no good goddamn reason. If it was 4am and you had nothing to do, everyone else was either asleep or off-site and you had just finished watching the late night Vampire-B-Movie after finishing that fifth cup of stale, re-re-reheated coffee, you went down to Otacons lab. There, you'd find him in more or less exactly the same state you did when you last visited him at noon and he'd be chipper and pleased to see you, as well as showing genuine surprised on his be-speckled features when you told him how late it was. He would then proceed to tell you exactly what he had done since you last saw him, sometimes going into great detail if the lack of sleep had drain you of all the energy -and thusly the will to object- in your body. Sometimes when Solid turned up, Liquid would already be there and against his will, Solid would be added to whatever conversation they were having prior to his arrival. When that happened, they would be up talking for hours. When they were up late with Otacon, they too often lost track of the time, the dingy little computer lab having a sense about it that it was removed from the rest of the world in its own little reality. After a while, even when Solid wasn't inside the computer lab, the sound of Otacons voice made him feel like he was back in there, safe in a familiar and uninhibited environment that protected him from the outside world like a mothers womb. There was little doubt in Solids mind that Liquid felt the same way.

The bet was as follows; they would both try to win over the affections of Doctor Emmerich, and the loser would have to pay five bucks.

The way Solid had won was simple, really, although not to Liquid. Liquid often relied on his physical appearance to seduce his prey. Liquid was almost as unconquerable in matters of seduction as he was in matters of combat, and just as he did on the battlefield, he used his vast cunning, powerful, commanding allure and breathtaking body to overwhelm his targets into conquest. This strategy had served him well against many opponents with the exception being his brother, whom had fallen for him out of something deeper than animal passion, a something Liquid wasn't willing to expose to his many conquests.

Solids strategy was a lot subtler, albeit it wasn't a strategy at all, really. Solid wasn't as openly passionate about his beliefs and desires as his brother Liquid, and that often caused many to believe he was a cold and uncaring man. Nothing could be further from the truth. Deep down, Solid was a man that easily bruised from betrayal and deceit, almost as much as his brother, and as such avoided any emotional contact of any kind with his associates. It was lot easyer to hide away from other peoples lives than get involved with them, and it was this quality about him that so often attracted others. When a man like him hides away, others are inexorably drawn to his secrets. Most of them give up when they encounter resistance, however, Otacon had not.

Solid couldn't decide if he was a genius or an idiot as he passed over his cantankerous behaviour and indecorous manner as if he hadn't even noticed Solid was trying to cause offence. At first, it drove him crazy; no matter what he said, no matter the spiteful remark he tried to push the engineer away, Otacon was never anything but civil and kindly to him to a degree that it really started to make Solid feel bad…

Despite his warm behaviour, Otacon still managed to retain that mousy shyness he had the day they met, and that served only to endear him to Solid even more. It was his nature as a shy and mousy man that caused Liquids strategy to fail on his occasion. Many of the men Liquid had seduced in the past were all soldiers, loud, proud self-assured men that were mostly secure about their sexualities until they met Solids brother. Otacon was unlike anything he had ever encountered; gentle, caring, polite, timid… these were all qualities Liquid had never dealt with before. When he entered full on bare-chested seduction mode, looming over the meeker man like a Snake tormenting its prey of a tiny trapped little mouse, it served only to drive Hal away in a dizzying fog of light-headed, frantic -and to a degree- somewhat petrified blush. He would make up some kind of half explained, stammering excuse to leave and then flee the room, often leaving Solid to pick up the pieces.

That was how Otacon had fallen in love with Solid and it drove Liquid crazy. Solid had often warned him that he was trying too hard, that the only reason his strategy worked was because he was after men that saw sex as a recreational activity and something that had very little to do with the emotions of love, but Liquid had always brushed off these observations.

Now, as Liquid stormed ferociously down the winding corridors of the facility, he had no option but to recognize that what his brother was telling him was the truth.

For some reason, Solid hadn't followed him from the computer lab with an apology, which wasn't a bad thing in retrospect, as it would almost certainly have been a cunningly disguised opportunity to gloat. Even though Liquids destination had been the locker room, as he came to it, he kept on going. He knew not why. For some reason, his emotions were all to frayed by simply losing the opportunity to become Otacons lover. Was it because he had lost to his brother? Liquid and Solid were seldom at odds with each other. Perhaps they were never meant to be…..

- Despite the fact that he was still walking, Liquid had stopped moving. For the first few seconds, he knew not why, but when he saw a man sprawled out on the floor in a heap of dishevelled paper work before him, he realised that he had bumped into and knocked over a man with a big bundle of papers that had been coming around the corner. As the man he had knocked down re-adjusted his glasses, Liquid finally noticed that it had been Otacon that he had knocked over and that he had been on his way to the computer lab.

"I'm terribly sorry." Apologised Liquid and he bent down to help the scientist collect his papers.

"No, it's my fault." Said Otacon and he rolled from a sitting position to his hands and knees to assist in Liquids retrieving of the files. "I was too busy reading all this paperwork to look where I was going."

"Nonsense." Said Liquid, then, almost to himself; "If this is anyone's fault, it's Solid Snakes."

"Daves?" Otacon said, perking up, his voice becoming high and somewhat defensive as his grey eyes met his. "What's he got to do with this?"

Liquid had a sudden, evil thought. He could barely suppress the wicked feelings blossoming in the pit of his gut. He knew what he was about to do was very harmful and that it would probably come back one day soon to bite him on the ass, but he was so furious at Solid Snake for stealing his prize from him that he didn't have a care about the long term consequences of his actions.

"I lost a bet." Said Liquid suddenly, the smug defiance on his face serving to unnerve Hal slightly.

"W.w… What kind of bet?" He asked, slinking away from the soldier.

"Solid Snake," Liquid began with undeserved triumph. "placed a bet with me that he would be able to win over your heart before I. And I just lost that bet."

There were a few moments of shocked silence from Hal as his confused face slowly twisted into a display of his utmost repulsion about what he had just heard.

"He _**what**_?!" Hissed Hal.

Before Liquid could repeat himself, Otacon had jumped up and was now thundering down the corridor towards his lab. Liquid couldn't decide if he had triumphed over his brother or if he had just made things a whole lot worse for himself.

---------------

When the door rang out behind him with a slam of aggression, Solid naturally assumed that it was Liquid and that he had returned with his bet in hand. What he actually saw surprised him greatly.

"Hal?" Asked Solid, placing the figure he had been toying with back on the windowsill. "What's"-

- "Did you make a bet with Liquid about me?"

There was a long pause.

"Liquid you bastard…." Solid growled under his breath. "So, you told him?"

"I don't think you get the point!" Otacon cried. "You both tried to make me love you _as a bet_?! Do you have any idea how worthless that makes me feel?! That I'm just a game to you two?!"

"Hal, we didn't mean to hurt you! We both liked you, we just…. Wanted to…."

"You made a _game_ out of who could get me first?! What is this – the dark ages?! I thought you were my friends!"

"We are!" Solid protested. "We just… didn't go about this the right way…. That's all."

Otacon removed his glasses and began massaging his shut eyelids with his right hand, glasses in the left. Solid felt a pang of intense guilt coil in the pit of his stomach when he began to understand that Hal was starting to cry.

"….Just get out." He said finally.

Solid moved past him. "Hal…" He said softly. Had he looked up, Solid would have seen the hurt in his eyes, as would Otacon. Instead, he didn't move. Solid finally left, shutting the door gently behind him, and let out a heavy sigh releasing of pent up tension he hadn't known had been there.-

- Then his eye caught something darting around the corner at the end of the corridor. It had to have been Liquid.

"_**Liquid!!**_" He bellowed, and gave chase.

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Hal waited for the sound of Dave's heavy-booted foot falls to disappear into the facility before he let his tattered emotions barge their way out onto the surface.

He wasn't expecting to cry as hard as he did. Perhaps it was because there were those who had toyed with his emotions in the past? It opened old wounds and rubbed salt in them. His sorrow was so overwhelming that in the end, he was so overcome he had to sit down in order to prevent himself from falling over. He threw his glasses onto the desk and began rubbing at his red, swollen eyes.-

-When a gloved hand reached out and picked them up.

Otacon leapt to his feet and jumped around to face the stranger with an expression of startled bewilderment; he could have sworn only Solid had been in the room a moment ago…..

The man holding his glasses examined them curiously with his one good eye. His gaze then swiftly flicked to Otacon's , causing a little yelp to escape his lips. That made him smile; he was more than used to unnerving people by now, especially after Outer Heaven.

"So, my boys upset you, huh?" Growled Big Boss, though he wasn't in any way trying to be aggressive; he growled every word he spoke.. Otacon nodded hurriedly, so fast that Big Boss thought his head my break off. A warm smile spread across his features. It gave Otacon a strange sense of vertigo; he had been terrified of his man almost all his life. Big Boss –at times- was a Frankenstein's monster of all the negative traits of Solid, Liquid and Solidus –particularly during the Outer Heaven incident, but after Solid and Liquid won him over to their way of thinking 'the old' Big Boss had started to shine through again, _This_ man was a blend of all the positive traits of his sons, and when that man confronted you about something with a warm smile, he made you feel as though you were his best friend.

Big Boss handed back Otacon's glasses.

"That Liquid's a bad influence on Solid." The older man said with a dazzling smile. "Makes him do crazy things, but hey – a man with that kind of body seems to have that kind of effect on everyone. I remember back when I was his age," He began, living up to the stereotype of rambling old men. His anecdotes, however, were often a lot more peculiar. "There wasn't a single lady spy that could resist my charms." He laughed. "or gentlemen spy, for that matter, but at the time, that wasn't intentional. I remember as a young man, it didn't occur to me that the reason so many male soldiers behaved so oddly towards me was because I'd turned them to the dark side." He looked thoughtful. "Speaking of which, How long has this thing with my sons been going on?"

"A month or so…" Otacon admitted, nodding softly. "But not anymore. Turns out I was just a game to them."

Sympathy slowly warmed his aged face and he pulled Otacon towards hum. If he had tried to resist, it wouldn't have done him much good; Big Boss was the kind of man who didn't know his own strength and often ended up injuring the less robust of his colleges. He didn't embrace him, as Hal had expected but instead patted him on his shoulder. He didn't say anything, only smiled.

From his pocket Big Boss produced his handkerchief and, after unfolding it, gave it to Otacon.

"Here." He said. "You should probably have this." Otacon fumbled with the white fabric between both sets of long, slender fingers before he dried his eyes with the gift, lifting up his glasses momentarily to get to them. It smelt of him…. After he stared at the fabric for a few moments like it was an alien life form (leaving Big Boss looking thoroughly bemused), he finally looked up at the older man, and with a bizarre look of bravery in his eyes, he said;

"I Think there's something you should have, too." And he closed the small distance between them, stood up on the tips of his toes and kissed Big Boss shyly on his cheek. As he came away, he was pleased to see another one of those validating and warm smiles on his face, but slowly it soured over into worry. Big Boss took him by both shoulders and gently pushed him away.

"You're hurt." He whispered. "And when people are hurt, they tend to become vulnerable, giving out their affections to anyone who shows them even a little bit of tenderness. I think I should leave…."

Big Boss turned to leave, but found Hal rushing around to block his path.

"I…" He began to protest, but found his words leaving him. True, he felt a great fondness for Big Boss and his benevolence _now_, but the more he though of how suddenly his love had bloomed, the more he began to realise that what Big Boss had said may well be true. "If I feel the same way in a week's time…." Big Boss put a single gloved hand on his shoulder.

"You won't..." He said. "And when that time comes, you'll look back on this with embarrassment and be glad that it never went any further.

As Big Boss passed him by and left the computer lab, Otacon balled the handkerchief up in his cold hands and felt in mounting certainty that the reason he had fallen for the Twin Snakes was because he was secretly in love with Big Boss.

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End!

Otacon/Big Boss…… That's an interesting concept.

Osteomalacia is apparently the adult form of rickets (which is a childhood illness) according to Wiki, but I thought I'd play it safe and say rickets. At the end of the day, getting your gag across is more important than being anal…..


End file.
